Ukraine’s Party of Regions to be preserved, reformatted, deputy leader said

ODESSA, March 01. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukraine’s Party of ‘Regions will be preserved, cleaned up, reformatted, and made democratic, its first deputy leader, parliament member Sergei Tigipko said after a meeting with fellow party members in Odessa on Friday.

“Many controversial processes are underway. We held this conference with our fellow party members to discuss a number of outstanding issues. I am not going to either quit the party or the faction. I wish to preserve it until the congress is convened to make the main decisions. I am for re-registration of all party members. Those who wish to leave will be free to do so. Possibly, there will be less of us, but we shall gain in terms of quality. The party leadership will be elected by secret ballot. We shall do our utmost to make it the most democratic party of all,” Tigipko said.

He believes that many of the party’s problems emerged because it had been tailored to suit one single person.